Ghost Protocol: Omega Standard
by ginkies
Summary: Same Mission. Different team. What if it wasn't just the I.M.F who were looking into the possible lost nuclear codes? There's nothing like keeping it in the family...
1. Prologue

Hi guys, when my laptop broke I worked on two new stories. They are both finished, and since I've just re-watched Mission Impossible, I thought I'd post this story first! I hope you all enjoy it.

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Prologue 

London, England - 2002.

We all have those moments in life that throw you for six and completely change how your life is going to go. For example when I was 18, I was going to go to university and become a doctor. That was until I walked home one sunny afternoon after my last exam of collage...

I walked towards the house actually bouncing off the walls. I had finished my last exam and I was planning a lovely long summer. Me and a few friends had planned to head down to Cornwall and just enjoy the hot summer that was promised for us. I was also planning on visiting my big brother before finally packing up and getting ready to leave home. I was so excited for the summer, I had no cares, no worries, just time to kill. Time to finally enjoy myself after years of hard work studying to get into the university I wanted to get to. But fingers crossed, it would all be paying off in a few short months! I literally couldn't shake the smile off my face as I walked in.

"Hey I'm home!" I yelled walking into the house. The place seemed quieter than normal, but I figured it was because everyone was still at work. It was only three and I knew only my Mum would be in. My Dad came out of the living room, he'd been crying, his eyes were red and puffy. Instantly I clutched my message bag strap, I knew something bad must have happened because my Dad never cried. My Dad was a big man, nearly seven foot with fiery red hair and blue eyes, he wasn't the most muscular man in the world but his height mixed with his hair colour gave the impression he could be a bruiser.

"Jensen, we need... Come into the house Love." My Dad nodded to follow him back into the living room. I gripped the strap on my bag so tight that my knuckles turned white.

"What's happened?" I asked following him and I saw my Mum sat crying, sobbing on the sofa. She was clutching onto a photo but I couldn't see who it was. I knew something bad had happened, they had both been crying for a while, their eyes were red and puffy; the box of tissues on the side was empty.

"Jensen, you need to sit down." My Dad said as he sat down next to Mum, putting his arm around her, bringing her closer to him. My Mum's already small stator seemed even smaller in my Dad's arms. I could still hear her sobbing as she clutched the photo closer to herself. My Dad was shushing my Mum, rubbing small circles on her back, trying to sooth her somehow.

"Dad, you're scaring me, what's happening?" I asked sitting on the very edge of a chair. My heart race increased as I saw a glimpse of the photo in my Mum's hand.

"Kara..." My Mum said clearing her throat. "Kara darling, there was an accident early this morning. Benji was in a car that... crashed into a tanker." My Mum said sobbing as she spoke. My heart jumped into my throat and for a few minutes all I could do is sit there and stare blankly at the photo of my big brother Benji. All I could hear was a buzzing in my ears as I looked at his picture. He was my big brother, he was meant to always be there to protect me. _He brought me back from hell and into the family. Without him, I wouldn't have been here. He saved me and always promised to be there for me. Now he was dead? Dead? Benji couldn't die._ The buzzing got louder as I stared at his photo, that stupid grin plastered all over his face. I felt the bottom of my stomach fall as I sat there my eyes locked on his in the suddenly lifeless picture.

"Jensen?" My Dad asked snapping me from the silence, his hand touching my leg making me jump to my feet. My heart began to race, the thumping taking the place of the silence in my ears. The bottomless pit my stomach had become started to creep up within me. A cold feeling radiating from my stomach outwards. Even my legs felt like jelly, yet they wouldn't move. They were glued to the spot on the floor. I'd never felt so lost in my life.

"Are, are you sure?" I whispered out feeling the sting of tears prick my eyes. My mind was racing with a million thoughts, a million ways that they were wrong and Benji would walk through the door with a bandage on his head and tell us all that it was a big mistake. _It has to be a mistake. He wouldn't leave me without saying goodbye. He promised he'd never let anything happen to me. He promised._

"Kara, I'm so sorry," My Mum sobbed getting to her feet, the tears were rolling down her cheeks in streams. "I know how close you two are..." Mum broke down, Dad instantly wrapping his arms around her again and pulling her into a hug. The cold feeling reached all my limbs as I stood there in total shock, not even the warmth from the sun could reach me now. I felt so hollow and alone.

"He can't die. He promised. He can't die." I mumbled as the tears fell down my cheeks and I continued to stare at the photo of my big brother. "He promised." I whispered to myself as I felt a twang of pain from my wrist. I glanced down and I noticed the thin red line that ran down from my fist that was grasping the bag strap. _He promised..._

* * *

_A life changing event_, that's what the death of Benji was to me, at least that's what the councillor said. From that moment my world started to spiral in a new direction. I had continued to look into Benji's death because I was not completely satisfied that he would just die in a car crash._He wouldn't leave me, not like that. He promised..._ I spent weeks using what Benji had shown me, hacking into different police, medical offices, traffic cam records, trying to find a crack, a way to prove he was still a live. I knew in my gut he wasn't dead. _He can't be._ My parents called it mourning, told me I was just stuck on the denial stage, that once I went to uni I'd move on and be able to accept it.

I didn't.

Ever.

I went to University, my first pick, and used the University to continue to hack into systems. It became my way of relaxing, hacking, and snooping for information. I didn't find anything, but I still couldn't shake the feeling in my gut. Slowly uni life pulled me away from the computer more and more. I was starting to only search on a Sunday morning when everyone else were recovering from the hangovers. Within the first couple of months I was asked to take some special tests. They appeared as e-mails from the University. At first I thought it was a joke, just some of my new friends messing with me. But I thought, what the hell, and took them. Next came a few letters asking me to show up at the language labs or physical education labs to continue with the tests. Each time I showed up the same three men stood there only talking to me to explain each test. They never gave me any information on what they expected from me. Just stone expressions and judging eyes.

Finally one Sunday morning nearly six months to the day I lost Benji, I took my washing to the laundry and the same three men approached me. "Miss Jensen, may we have a word?" The oldest of the men asked. He was tall, salt and pepper hair, dark blue eyes and had a warm smile on his face.

"Ok, look. The test's were fun, I'm sure you guys had hidden cameras and all that jazz, but really. I'm not in the mood." I said plainly, hitching my basket of laundry onto my hip.

"Miss Jensen, those tests weren't part of a prank. They were a screening process." The man continued, never looking away from my eyes. He sounded so serious that it peeked my interest, just enough to take a second glance at the man fully.

"Sure they were." I sighed, glancing at the other two men who just stood silently.

"I'm David Martin, the Director of the Omega Standard." David said holding his hand out to me.

"So, you want me to work for a watch company, huh?" I asked shaking his hand. David and the others let out a small chuckle. It was the first human response I had seen out of his two shadows since I had met them.

"Much more than that Miss Jensen, we want you to help save the world." David replied seriously, the smile leaving his face as his eyes hardened on me.

* * *

See the Omega Standard, much like the Impossible Missions Force, work globally to save the world from well itself. It's base is the UK and as such most agents were British. The Omega Standard go where they are needed, usually as a preventative measure, stopping criminals and terrorists before they can do something really stupid. The O.S have a long history of working with the I.M.F; the two agencies are the only things that keep the world safe...

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So what do you all think? I hope you all enjoy this story!


	2. Russia

Russia

10 years later. Moscow- The Kremlin.

"_Aquaman, are you in position yet?_" Chris Smythe, a fellow field agent asked; his voice coming through my ear piece. I was stood outside the Kremlin watching as three of my team tried to break into the Kremlin's most secure vault to try and figure out who this _Colbolt_ terrorists real name was. We thought he was Russian and probably at one time worked with the Russians, hence the Kremlin. We knew he wanted to start a nuclear war by any means possible. The thing I didn't like was that I had gotten wind that a Impossible Missions Force had cocked up a snatch and there were live nuclear codes floating in the wind. I knew our best bet was to get hold of the identity of Colbolt and take care of him, but I still thought we should track the person with the codes too. But I wasn't the leader of the group, I just fallowed orders.

"_You know I don't get why I'm Aquaman and you get to be Green Lantern._" Steve Newton our tech guy asked sighing as he moved into position. Steve was late thirties with short black hair, dark brown eyes and gave off the typical nerdy kind of guy vibe. He loved his computers, computer games and comics.

"_Because I chose the code names. Deal with it Aquaman._" Chris joked making me smile. Then there was Chris, the complete opposite, tall, muscular blonde with blue eyes. He and Steve shared the love of computer games and that was it. It was probably the only thing Steve could beat Chris at, that and hacking. Chris was clearly on the team for muscle, something he didn't mind.

"_How do you even know about Aquaman? You don't read comics!"_ Steve cried out making me chuckle a little as I played with my hair to hide the smile.

"_I had a look at one of them yesterday, while we were planning. I thought it looked interesting... I was wrong._" Chris replied dead pan, teasing Steve. I could hear the pair bickering and chose to stay out of it. I knew sometimes they just needed to get it out of their system. They were like an old married couple, always arguing over one thing or another.

"_Wonder Woman, you in position?_" Damien Rider, the operations leader asked cutting the two off. Mix a little Steve, a little Chris, add the ability to think of his feet and the fact he had led more successful missions that anyone else at Omega and you got Damien. Living legend wasn't even in it. He was taller than me or Steve a little less muscular but just as toned as Chris with dark blonde hair and green eyes. He was a handsome looking guy, someone you would take a second glance to in the right situations. I blinked as I took another look around, the place was full of tourists.

"_Sure am Superman. Just wish I was inside with you guys."_ I sighed softly as I looked at the massive buildings around me. I was just a look out, there to let the guys know if I saw any threat to our mission. Generally I was back-up/the woman of the group. I got to do all the flirty missions, or come in and shoot things. I was more than just back-up though, I was the wheels man, the medic, the peace keeper and generally dogs body. I had training in most of the fields everyone else did, but I was just lacking some experience. Compared to the rest of the group I was still relatively new at the spy game. That's what my review had said last month anyway. Chris, Steve and Damien told me to ignore it, they knew how much I brought to the team and promised me they couldn't work without me in it.

"_Well Wonder Woman, I did offer for you to fit into the tiny crawl space and operate the tech._" Steve replied as I watched a General and his aid march into the building. I noticed his aid had two large bags and seemed to be muttering a lot.

"Superman, Green Lantern you guys catch the General and his Comrade who just entered? Some big ass bags huh?" I said pressing my finger into my ear, to anyone else it looked like I was checking my headphones were in.

"_We see them. They've been granted access, all be it on their second try. Aquaman, are we live yet?_" Damien asked as I paced around the area. I had my 'MP3 Player' in my hand as I paced. The machine worked as a signal relay for Steve. Apparently it boosted his signal and helped him hack into the security systems of the Kremlin.

"_We are green on all fronts Superman. Or should that be red and blue since Kryptonite is green?_" Steve replied as I paced waiting for them to let me know when to grab the van.

* * *

I was stood for about twenty minutes just taking in the view and monitoring the people who came and went from the building. Apart from the General and his friend I hadn't spotted anyone out of the ordinary. It was a good sign, it meant there was less chance of the plan messing up, and honestly a smooth plan was a safe plan.

"_Ok, so a slight hitch with the plan..._" Steve replied as the guys were discussing the best way to get into the vault. The vault promised to contain the true identity of Colbolt. Once we had his name we planned to take him out, then pose as him to get the codes from whoever was selling them.

"_What?_" Chris asked as he and Damien stood talking in Russian about how long it had been since they had seen each other. It was their cover and it sounded convincing for the most part.

"_Well I'm not sure, but I'm picking up another band frequency._" Steve replied and I could hear him hitting some keys. I glanced around the square looking for any sign of people who could also be running an op at the same time.

"Out here's clean. Are you sure?" I asked softly as my eyes continued to float over the crowds. No one stood out, so either they were good, or all the team was already inside the building. My money was on the General and his Comrade.

"_Yeah there is two bands in fact. Oh well isn't this cosy._" Steve sighed, he sounded annoyed.

"_Aquaman,can you bring in the feed, give us ears?_" Damien asked firmly as Chris rambled on about his imaginary family and how his dog attacked the paper boy again.

"_Bringing it up... now._" Steve replied as we heard a new male voice. I held my breath as we all listened in.

"_It's empty, the nest is empty._" The male voice confirmed. Before anyone could ask, we heard struggling and static as the feeds all seemed to merge into one.

"_Check in team leader. Over._" A British voice with a hint of another language asked. "_Repeat. Check in team leader. Have you made it to the archive room? Team leader, awaiting your go sign. Standing by to detonate._" The voice added making me focus my attention on the Kremlin building.

"_Abort._" The other male replied as my eyes widened.

"_Did he just say detonate?!_" Steve cried out over the air. It didn't really matter if the others could hear us, there was a bomb and our people inside.

"_Confirmed. Aquaman, Wonder Woman get ready to leave. Meet at extraction point alpha if separated. Green Lantern and I are going to see if we can catch them on the way out. I want total radio silence, understood?_" Damien asked as I watched people just carry on as normal. I noticed the guards on the gates get the message something was wrong and I saw them tense up. Their eyes were set out to the crowd searching for someone who could have planted a bomb too.

"_Understood. Wonder Woman will meet you up front in five. Over._" Steve said and the radio went dead. I took a deep breath and thought about warning people that a bomb was about to go off. But I knew if I did it would break cover and in the long run I wouldn't be doing anyone any good. I looked around and caught a tall woman in a dark red coat rushing away. I started to fallow her when I noticed the Comrade of the General walk out of the building alone. He didn't have any bags with him or any people. I glanced at my watch, I had enough time to go '_talk_' before I had to pick Steve up. I jogged over to the Comrade, tapping him on the shoulder as I reached him.

"Jensen?!" "Benji?!"

Stood in front of me, very much alive was my '_dead_' brother Benji. I blinked, I couldn't believe it- he was alive and looked, if not slightly panicked, good. But I didn't have time to be shocked, I knew the building was about to blow, and someone with an English accent was behind it. My mind raced at the idea Benji was behind it, but I knew I had to take him in. If I took him in I could protect him, keep him safe from anyone else hunting him down.

"You're coming with me." I said grabbing hold of my brothers arm and tugging at him.

"Jensen, what, what are you doing here?!" Benji cried out as he started to walk us further away from the Kremlin.

"Benji, you need to come with me." I said stopping, jerking Benji to a stop too. I put on my serious expression as I stared at my big brother.

"Jensen, we don't have time the building is about to blow. Come on!" Benji replied tugging on my sleeve. I could see the panic in his eyes as he watched me stand perfectly still.

"I know! So come with me." I said pulling my arm free. Benji paused and looked at me, really looked at me. I just wanted to keep him safe, but he really wasn't making it easy. I knew if I made too much of a scene then people would notice and it would be bad for both of us.

"Jensen, I, I can't..." Benji said softly, shaking his head watching me. Suddenly over my ear piece I heard a fight break out, some gun shots followed by some more fighting. I couldn't tell if it was my team, the _other _team or the third line Steve had picked up on.

"_Green Lantern is down. Repeat Green Lantern is dead. Colbolt is here._" Damien said as I stared at Benji. I felt the adrenaline double as I heard Chris was dead.

"Who are you Jensen?" Benji asked looking at me like he didn't know me at all, clearly he had heard the same thing I heard. I stood in total shock, I had never expected my own brother to look at me like that.

"_Wonder Woman, Aquaman, get out! Get out now!_" Damien yelled as he sounded out of breath. "_I'm hit! Damn it! I'm hit, I'm not going to make it out in time. The place is going to blow!_" He added sounding hurt. Benji's eyes widened as he held his hand out to me.

"Come with me and I'll get you to a safe place." Benji begged as people carried on just looking around oblivious to the danger they were about to find themselves in.

"_Wonder Woman E.T.A to extraction point, three minutes, you ready?_" Steve asked panting as it sounded like he was running. Benji wiggled his hand out to me, tears almost forming in his eyes as he silently begged me to go with him. "_Wonder Woman do you copy?!_" Steve snapped making me jump slightly. I brought my hand up to my ear as Benji just watched in shock.

"Copy. Moving." I replied looking Benji in the eyes. This was who I was now. I was a spy and I had to protect the team the best I could.

"I'm so sorry Jensen." Benji replied with a sad smile before taking off in the opposite direction I needed to go. I blew the air out of my cheeks as I ran for the van, fishing in my pocket at the same time for the keys. _Benji's alive. He's actually alive. I knew he wouldn't leave me. But... is he working for the bad guys? Did he plant the bomb? Damn it Benji, what have you gotten yourself into?!_

* * *

I ran away from the Kremlin and down a few side streets as a short cut to get to the van. My heart was racing the whole time and not just because of bomb, but because I saw my brother alive and well. I reached the van and jumped in starting it straight away. I tore away from the side of the road and raced to the extraction point, as I turned the corner to be level with the Kremlin I felt the explosion. It rocked the whole van as I weaved through the slowing traffic. My heart pounded in my chest as I realised both Damien and Chris were in the building still. There was no way Damien could have made it out in time. I pulled the van to a stop at the point and hit my thumbs against the steering wheel while I waited for any sign of Steve. In the background I could hear the emergency vehicles sirens blaring as they raced to the scene. It already looked like people were trapped under the rumble and some looked shaken up. People were screaming for help as my eyes darted over the crowd I could see. I kept telling myself I was looking for Steve but in truth I was looking for Benji. For any sign that he was alive and ok.

"_Superman? Aquaman? Do you copy?_" I asked tapping my ear as my eyes darted over the mess the bomb had coursed. It was like a war zone and I just didn't know where to look. All I got was static on the other end of the line as I crashed my head against the wheel. "Don't all be dead. Please don't all be dead." I prayed as I closed my eyes.

"Jensen! Thank God you got out there!" Steve cried as he raced over to the van. I jumped out and wrapped my arms around him tightly. The tears fell from my face even though I didn't mean them to. Steve was covered in dust, dirt and had a few scratched on his face, but he was alive.

"I thought you were dead!" I cried out as he wrapped his arms around my body, while still holding his bags.

"It was close, we need to move." Steve said stepping out of the hug. I wiped the tears away with the back of my hand and nodded opening the van for him to get in. I jumped in the drivers seat as he jumped in the passenger side.

"Did Damien make it?" I asked starting the engine up again. As I asked the question my hands felt sticky.

"No. Just you and me." Steve replied seriously. I looked at my hands and there was blood on them. My stomach rolled as I realised there was only one placed the blood could have come from.

"You're hit!" I cried out as I noticed the deep red patch forming on his t-shirt. Steve glanced down at his body and went pale.

"Hey look, I've been hit..." Steve said in shock as his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he almost passed out.

"Steve!" I snapped slapping his face and pressing on his wound. "Wake up now!" I snapped pressing down on the wound. Steve's eyes rolled forward and he took a sharp breathe in.

"I'm hit!" He cried out in total shock. The panic clear in his voice as his eyes landed on the wound again.

"I know, keep pressing on here, we'll get out of here. Ok?" I asked focusing on the wound rather than looking into his eyes. I'd seen Damien and Chris banged up, I'd fixed them both up a few times, but Steve had always been fine. Nothing more than a few scrapes here or there. Now that I had his blood on my hands, it just brought the realisation of the whole situation to me. I knew if I looked into his eyes, I'd loose it, I'd let the rising panic take over and neither of us would survive.

"Drive fast Jensen." Steve begged pressing on the wound in hopes of stopping it from bleeding as fast.

"You'll be ok Steve, you'll be ok." I muttered as I weaved my way from the settling dust cloud that was once the Kremlin.


	3. Alone

Alone

I drove with no real idea where I was heading. Usually we would head for the extraction point and bail, but I was two men down and I wasn't sure how long Steve was going to stay with me. He looked paler by the second and the pressure he was putting on his wound wouldn't be enough. I pulled my phone out my pocket and hit a few keys.

"_Omega Standard._" A female voice replied as she picked up.

"Agent Jensen -Alpha-Romeo-1-3-Delta-8-6. I need a safe hospital one of my team is down and the other two are dead." I stated as Steve groaned. I glanced over at him and he tried to smile, but I could see how much pain he was in.

"Getting blow up, hurts a lot worse then it looks in the movies." Steve groaned trying to make me smile. I gave him a half hearted smile as I tapped the steering wheel impatiently. The traffic was easing but I was still trying to weave in and out. I was put on hold and that just made my heart race faster. Everything seemed to be taking so damn long it was driving me insane.

"Keep pressure on it Steve." I muttered as Steve rolled his eyes at me.

"I'm trying Jensen." Steve replied closing his eyes.

"Hey! Hey! Eyes open!" I snapped slapping Steve's cheek with the side of my phone. Slowly Steve opened his eyes, almost glaring at me, but I could see how much effort he was putting into that one move.

"You are really bossy." Steve slurred as he watched me, the weak smile plastered on his face.

"Just keep your damn eyes open." I grunted as I glanced between him and the road. Thankfully everyone on the roads were trying to get to the Kremlin, it meant my side of the road was free to speed down.

"_Nearest safe point is The American Embassy. Agent Jensen are you hurt?_" The voice had changed to one I recognised as the head of the Omega Standard David Martin. I noticed the GPS receive new data as I drove.

"No sir, but Steve is hurt bad. Damien and Chris didn't make it out." I said with a lump in my throat as I tried to push down the emotion that was trying to burst through. I took a deep breath turning a sharp left as the GPS in the van updated.

"Easy!" Steve hissed out as he was slammed into the side of the car.

"Sorry." I sighed throwing him an apologetic smile, fallowing the route to the embassy. I just wanted to get there as quickly as possible so that Steve could get treated. I really didn't want to loose him too.

"_Agent Jensen I need you to meet up with the I.M.F Secretary and his Chief Analyst. You will help him and leave the country with them. Understood?_" David asked firmly, his voice was so calm, and I couldn't understand how he could be so calm. Two of his agents were dead, a third wasn't looking promising; and to top things off the mission was a total bust with a bombing on the Kremlin.

"What's going to happen to Steve?" I asked as turned another corner and found myself at the location the GPS was pointing too. We were at the back of the embassy and the back doors opened to reveal a full medical team. They rushed over to Steve's side and opened the door. I watched as they eased Steve out of the van and onto a bed, checking his vitals.

"_He'll be flown home as soon as possible. We are getting all out agents out of Russia for the foreseeable future. Good luck Agent._" The line went dead, but I didn't care I was too busy jumping out the van and chasing after Steve as they wheeled him into the back of the building. I caught up to them when a man in a suit put his hand on my shoulder stopping me as they wheeled Steve into a room.

"They're going to operate on him. Trust me, he's in safe hands." The man with an American accent said looking down into my eyes. He rubbed my shoulder softly and gave me a sympathetic smile. I stared at the door Steve went in and let out a shaky breathe.

"I hope so..." I whispered out. I looked down at my hands and realised they were shaking and covered in Steve's blood. I was in as much shock as Steve. It had all happened so fast and I was only just starting to realise what I had been through.

"You wanna get cleaned up? I can find you some clean clothes." The man suggested looking at me almost as if he read my mind.

"Please." I said softly as he slid his hand to my lower back and led me through a maze of rooms. At the end of each corridor I noticed guards, probably CIA or something like that. They all looked the same in their black suits, white shirt and thin black ties. Hell all they needed was the shades and it would be just like the movies. My guide led me down a long corridor and opened the door at the end. There were no guards on the corridor I noticed.

"Here, get cleaned up and I'll bring you some clothes Agent Jensen." The man said closing the doors behind him. I was alone for the first time since we started the mission. _Alone again..._I stood in the wash rooms and my whole body shook in utter shock. I dropped to my knees as my body continued to shake. Tears fell from my face as I brought my knee's up to my face, hugging them as I continued to cry. In the space of an hour I had gone through so many emotions and they were only just hitting me now.

"Oh god." I cried out as the tears ran down my face. _Benji is alive. He's alive and well, and in Russia. He was there, but why, how did he know about the bomb? Did he plant it? Is he helping the person who did? How is he even alive? Did I make the right call? Should I have left him, let him run away from me? He was, is, my big brother. Did I let that cloud my judgement? He's alive. I'm just gonna be happy for that at the moment._ I smiled despite the tears and let the knowledge that out there Benji was alive and well sink in. I just hoped that I could get to him before anyone else. Before he could get hurt.

My body went from pure joy to despair in the drop of a hat. _Damien and Chris are both dead. Colbolt killed Chris, well then I'm going to take out Colbolt and as for blowing Damien up. Hell he's going to wish that he got caught up in a nuclear blast by the time I'd done with him. Sanctioned or not, I'm going for Colbolt. He took away my family and no one gets away with that. Junior Agent or not, I will not let Colbolt get away with this, not this. _I stopped crying and wiped the tears off my face before pulling myself up. I walked over to the sink and washed the blood of my face and hands. The reddy pink water spiralled down the sink as I washed away the events of the day. I put away the emotions running through my head and focused on the mission. I had my moment to break down, now I needed to find all the information on Colbolt and find him. Then after I made the bastard pay I would find Benji and answers.

"Ok then. That's the plan." I said looking into the reflection of myself. I was clean, but as I looked at my reflection I saw a change in myself. I wasn't just a junior field agent, I was an Omega Standard agent. The new resolve settling into the empty hole that Damien and Chris deaths had made. I was an Omega Standard agent and I would live up to the hype. _Colbolt had better start running..._

* * *

The same guy from before brought me some fresh jeans, a plain white t-shirt and a black leather biker jacket. I thanked him before changing and tying my hair into a high ponytail. I tucked my gun into my side holster. I took one last look at myself in the mirror. I knew I had to become the agent my team believed I could be. I took a steady breath before walking out and nearly into the man who fetched my clothes.

"Sorry." I said softly, steadying myself so that I didn't fall over.

"No I probably shouldn't stand right in front of the doors. I'm Al." Al said, holding his hand out to me. I shook it and gave him a small smile. Al was probably the same age as me, tall, dark hair, green eyes and gave off a very men in black vibe.

"Jensen." I replied softly.

"Agent Newton is still in surgery, but the docs say it ain't that bad. He should make a full recovery. Just might take a while." Al said with a reassuring smile. I just nodded as I drummed my thumbs on my thighs.

"Good." I said with a quick nod. "I got told to see the I.M.F Secretary." I added pushing my fringe off my face and tucking it behind my ears. I knew that my fridge gave my face a youthful look, but this wasn't the time to be treated like a kid. I wanted the Secretary to take me seriously. It was a small thing, but it was important to me.

"Of course, he's just in a phone call but I'll take you to his Chief Analyst, Mr Brandt." Al replied and started to walk.

"Thanks." I said softly walking by his side.

"No worries, are the clothes ok?" Al asked softly as we walked. I looked down at myself and nodded, a small smile on my lips.

"Yeah, they're fine. Thank you for that too." I said drumming on my thighs a little less.

"It's cool. It's just we don't get many women agents round here, those were the first things we could buy when we heard you were coming in." Al explained nodding to the passing guards as we walked.

"You didn't have to." I muttered as I glanced around realising I hadn't actually seen another female agent yet.

"Clean clothes is a must." Al stated so sure of himself. "Along with a beer and possibly ice-cream. It's a tradition round here."

"Tradition?" I asked arching an eyebrow. Al turned to me and faulted for a second before he nodded firmly.

"After a bad mission... we usually watch Basketball too, but I doubt your into that, you probably would wanna watch soccer instead huh?" Al asked with a lop sided smile on his face.

"Football." I corrected him returning his smile.

"Soccer fan then?" He asked smiling at me.

"I've been known to support Man U." I replied as I slowed the drumming on my fingers.

"I'm more of a Chelsea fan personally." Al commented making me actually smile widely.

"Shame," I teased as Al turned to me looking confused. "You had so much going for you." I joked as I fallowed him through all the corridors and rooms, up a flight of stairs and down another corridor before he stopped knocking on a door.

"Yeah?" A voice yelled from the other side of the door. Al opened it walking in with me right behind him. I looked at the desk in the centre of the room and quickly realised that no one was sat there. I took a quick look around the room and leaning on the wall, reading a book, the man stood. He was a little taller than me, mucky blonde hair, bluey green eyes and was more muscular than I would expect a analyst to be if I was honest.

"Mr Brandt, this is Agent Jensen, Omega Standard." Al said as Mr Brandt looked up from his book. He took me in with one long look, snapping his book shut as he walked over to me.

"Agent Jensen." Brandt said holding his hand out to me. "William Brandt, Chief Analyst."

"It's just Jensen, Mr Brandt." I replied shaking his hand. He gave me a small smile and nodded, leaning on the front of his desk.

"I'll go, but Jensen, I'll come find you if I hear anything else about Agent Newton and just let me know if you need anything." Al said rubbing my arm before walking out of the room. I gave Al a small smile, the guy was nice enough, probably the nicest person I was going to meet for a while.

"See you made an impression on him." Brandt smirked watching the door close.

"Do you know how long the Secretary is going to be?" I asked loosing my smile as I glanced around the room, ignoring his comment.

"Not too long, why?" Brandt asked watching me.

"Every minute I waste here, Mr Brandt, is time I could be using to gather Intel on Colbolt." I said plainly glancing around the room. The office was pretty basic, a desk a bookcase, no personal effects. It made me believe it wasn't Mr Brandt's office but he was just wasting time there.

"You're going after him alone?" Brandt watching me carefully. I turned my attention back to the man.

"He took out two of my team, the third is fighting for his life. I kinda plan to go after him, yeah." I said firmly, never looking away from his eyes. This was my first chance to show I was an Omega Standard Agent and I could do the mission.

"So you think one person can do what the I.M.F, O.S hell every other agency out there can't do?" Brandt asked putting his book behind him, the smugness in his voice made me clench a fist.

"I'm invested." I replied firmly, moving my hands behind my back so that he couldn't see the fist.

"You're seeking revenge, it messes up the way people think. They don't calculate for all the variables." Brandt stated plainly waving a hand in the air as he talked.

"Sometimes you don't see the variables until it's too late." I said pacing up and down in front of Brandt. My thumbs drumming on my thighs as I moved, he had wound me up the wrong way. I knew I had to keep my cool if I wanted permission to go after Colbolt. As I paced I realised what he had said. My head shot up in Brandt's direction. "The I.M.F, they were there?" I asked firmly.

"Yes." Brandt said glancing to the floor as he answered.

"They were after information on Colbolt too?" I asked again moving closer to Brandt.

"Yes." He replied plainly his eyes reaching mine finally.

"What team?" I asked as I reached him. There was a close gap between us as I searched Brandt's eyes for anything I could use to make him talk. Brandt just lent against the desk, his eyes locked on mine, following mine as they moved.

"I can't tell you. It's classified like all I.M.F missions." Brandt replied never looking away from my eyes. We stood there perfectly still for a few moments while I weighed him up a little more. It was clear he didn't see me as a threat, just another dumb agent probably. But the way he looked into my eyes, I knew he was hiding more, so much more than he was saying.

"Are they still going after Colbolt?" I asked sighing as I moved back and began to pace in front of him again. If they were, maybe a joint task force between our two agencies would be for the best. Communication between the two so far hadn't been brilliant. I heard the door open behind me and turned to see the I.M.F Secretary stood there in his suit, he looked a little flustered. Brandt stood up straight from the desk and walked to my side.

"Secretary, this is Agent Kara Jensen, O.S." Brandt said introducing us. I gave Brandt a questioning look, I hadn't told him my first name. In fact as part of the course I never gave out my first name. Everyone knew me as Jensen.

"Agent Jensen, I'm so sorry for what happened to your team." The Secretary said walking over to me and shaking my hand.

"Thank you sir, but honestly, I don't need apologies. I need to get back in the field and find Colbolt before he can harm other people." I said firmly meeting his gaze. The Secretary glanced from me to Brandt. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw Brandt nod a little.

"Very blunt Agent Jensen." The Secretary replied with a small nod of his own. "Have you been informed of what I require from you?" He asked clearing his throat.

"No sir." I said tapping my thumbs on my thighs again.

"I need you to help escort an I.M.F agent back to the states where, he will explain his actions for the bombing on the Kremlin." The Secretary stated plainly, he watched for my reaction. I knew that if the I.M.F agent had planted that bomb it would look bad on them, the agent would be exposed to the world as a terrorist. But I also knew the I.M.F had no reason to bomb the Kremlin, they were after the information just like we were. Clearly they were using the agent as a scape goat.

"Why me sir? Don't you have fellow I.M.F agents here?" I asked firmly. The Secretary gave me a sly smile before nodding.

"I don't think we can trust the other I.M.F agents here. O.S have a long history of working along side the I.M.F, being the only fit and available agent, well it has to be you." The Secretary stated plainly before turning his attention to Mr Brandt. "I believe we should be leaving now. I need to return to the States so that I can hand in my resignation to the President. He's authorised Ghost Protocol on the I.M.F" The Secretary added furrowing his brows as he looked deeply troubled. Ghost Protocol was effectively shutting down the I.M.F instantly. It meant that capturing Colbolt was left to the O.S and I would do everything I could to be on that mission.

"Everything is ready sir." Brandt replied from my side as if he had expected it all to happen this way. I had no doubt Mr Brandt had run the numbers and worked all angles, realising this was the most likely outcome.

"Shall we Agent Jensen?" The Secretary asked, waving to the door.

"Sir." I said fallowing the Secretary out the door, Mr Brandt on my heels.


	4. Together

I fallowed the Secretary down the back corridors to the back to the US Embassy, where a black Jeep sat waiting for us. The Secretary sat next to Mr Brandt as I got in opposite Mr Brandt.

"This is going to get messy." The Secretary sighed sounding exhausted as Brandt poured some tea. The troubled look hadn't left his face since he announced the activation of Ghost Protocol. I knew the gravity of the situation with Ghost Protocol being activated, but still I felt like I was missing something. I sat silently, my thumbs softly drumming on my thighs.

"It's the best course of action given all possible scenarios sir." Brandt replied passing a cup over to the Secretary. I just watched the pair silently. Brandt caught me watching the pair and paused. "Do you want a cup?" Brandt asked plainly lifting up his cup.

"I'm not much of a tea drinker, contrary to popular stereotypes." I said plainly, making the Secretary smile. Brandt just shrugged and continued to make his cup.

"Agent Jensen, I've read your file." The Secretary said as I turned my attention to him. He looked deadly serious as he spoke. "You've only been in one team since joining O.S. Your test results read off the charts, but you just need more independent field work."

"If that's what my file says sir." I said plainly as I drummed my thumbs on my thighs again.

"I presume you're still wanting to go after Colbolt after returning back to Omega." The Secretary asked taking a sip of his tea. I sat up straight and stopped drumming my thumbs, something Brandt noticed.

"Yes sir." I said firmly keeping my eyes locked on the Secretary.

"I know he took out your team, but you need to leave the revenge at the door." The Secretary said plainly, his eyes locking on mine. He was trying to impart a pearl of wisdom to me.

"I don't believe it's that easy sir." I said never looking away from him.

"Were you sleeping with one of them?" The Secretary asked throwing me off guard, I noticed Brandt's eyebrows raise as he looked at me too.

"No sir." I said firmly. "But they were my family, and sometimes revenge helps the healing process." I added honestly. The car fell silent as the Secretary passed his empty cup back to Brandt. He seemed to loose himself back into his thoughts as I began to softly drum on my thighs again. My eyes continued to dart around the back of the car. I would check the windows to see where we were, the rear view mirror to see if we were being fallowed, the Secretary and even Brandt. Every time my eyes landed on Brandt he was watching me, his own eyes taking in every little movement of mine. He was studying me, much in the way I studied people for a mission, it wasn't a technique analyst's used. The more time I spent with Brandt the more I got the idea he wasn't just a Chief Analyst, I thought maybe he was a personal protection detail for the Secretary. It would make sense having the best cover as an analyst. It was a question I wanted to ask, but knew it wasn't my place.

* * *

We pulled down a side alley and parked up. As soon as the car stopped the door opened and a man climbed into the car. He was a little taller than me, maybe Brandt's height, dark floppy hair and green eyes. He had a black leather jacket on and dark green trousers. It looked like he had either been caught up in the bomb at the Kremlin or had lost a fight. My bet was the bomb. He looked at all three of us in one sweep, returning his gaze to the Secretary.

"Mr Secretary," The man said with an American accent sliding the door shut. "I wasn't aware that you were in Russia." He added looking surprised for a moment.

"I'm not," The Secretary replied as the car started to move again. "Not since a bomb blew up the Kremlin. Yesterday I flew in to accept the Order Of Friendship from the Russian Prime Minister. Now I'm heading back to Washington to hand the President my resignation. " The Secretary explained, I noticed Brandt looked uncomfortable as he messed with his tea. His eyes continued to dart to the man I was sat next to. The man's eyes darted to me, then Brandt. "Agent Kara Jensen, Omega Standard." The Secretary explained as the man looked at me. "Agent Jensen, this is Ethan Hunt."

"Hello Mr Hunt." I said plainly giving Ethan a quick nod. I had heard of the great Ethan Hunt, the guy was a living legend. But I was never one to buy into hype. He was an agent, just like me. His eyes quickly darted to Brandt's again, clearly he didn't see me as much of a threat. I wasn't sure if I should be happy or annoyed by that.

"My Chief Analyst, William Brandt." The Secretary explained as Brandt looked more nervous as Ethan looked at him. Brandt held his hand out to shake as Ethan wiped his hand on his jacket.

"Pen?" Ethan asked softly, ignoring Brandt's hand.

"Pardon me?" Brandt asked confused.

"A Pen?!" Ethan asked louder and slower. Brandt went into his pocket and passed Ethan a pen. Instantly he started to draw on his hand, a sketch of a person.

"Ethan what happened in the Kremlin?" The Secretary asked as Ethan glanced at Brandt making him more uncomfortable.

"Chief Analyst you say?" Ethan asked as he went back to his sketch.

"If you're implying that I made a bad call-" Brandt started to say when Ethan cut him off.

"European male, fifties, six foot, one eighty pounds, blue eyes," Ethan rattled off his description as he held his hand up to Brandt. "Who is he?" Ethan asked as we all looked at Brandt. He took a moment to look at it, meeting Ethan's eyes again.

"Crude drawing but by your description," Brandt said glancing at all three of us. "That could be Kurt Hendricks. One hundred and ninety IQ, served in Swedish special forces, professor of physics Stockholm University, specialist in Nuclear End Game theory. Ask to resign," Brandt paused while he took a another look at all three of us. "Well, because he's crazy." He finished looking back at Ethan. I was really impressed that Brandt knew who the guy was off the top of his head, then I remembered he was a chief analyst, it was his job to know that quickly.

"Colbolt." Ethan said softly as my eyes widened.

"The third band." I added as Ethan looked at me. "You guys where in the vault, he was the third band. He alerted the Russian's, shot my team." I said meeting his gaze, nodding as it all started to make sense in my head.

"The O.S were there?" Ethan asked surprised as he looked over to the Secretary. "Why weren't we told?" He added firmly and slightly annoyed.

"We didn't know. We think the message go intercepted." The Secretary admitted as we both looked at him for answers.

"Maybe Colbolt wanted to set us both up at the same time. Two birds one stone? Taking both teams off the board would give him free reign to do whatever he wanted." I suggested looking to the Secretary who nodded in agreement.

"You have to alert the Kremlin that one of their strategists has a nuclear launch device." Ethan said looking straight at the Secretary. "And one of his operatives has the codes to activate it." Ethan added as we listened to him. I was impressed that he had found the buyer, it was the missing link I was looking for.

"And what makes you say that?" Brandt asked softly, almost moving back into his seat as Ethan turned his gaze to him. He was so threatened by Ethan, yet didn't batter an eyelid at me. I guess that's what having a legend does to a person.

"I saw him, leaving the executive armoury, bag in hand." Ethan explained before turning his attention back to the Secretary. "He set off that explosion to cover his tracks. It could be weeks before the Russian's know it's missing. Unless we tell them." Ethan added firmly.

"They wont listen to us." The Secretary replied solemnly. "As far as the Russian's are concerned we just bombed the Kremlin. The tension between the United States and Russia hasn't been this high since the Cuba Missile Crisis." The Secretary explained as Brandt looked at me. We all knew it was true, one false move on either side and we really could be looking at a Nuclear War neither side wanted to start. "And the blame, right or wrong, points to I.M.F." The Secretary added as Ethan glanced at me and Brandt. Again I noticed Brandt couldn't hold Ethan's gaze, instead he turned his attention back to the Secretary. He was really intimidated by Ethan. "The President has initiated Ghost Protocol. The entire I.M.F has been disavowed." The Secretary explained. The car went silent again as Ethan took in the news. Ethan sighed softly, his gaze becoming unfocused as he realised just what that meant to him.

"So what happens now?" Ethan asked looking back to the Secretary.

"Now I've been ordered to take you back to Washington with the aid of Agent Jensen." The Secretary said as Ethan took another look at me. I sat perfectly still as he looked me over, I had to admit, he was slightly intimidating but no where near as bad as Brandt was reacting too. "Where the D.O.D will label you as an extremist and hang the bombing on you and your team." The Secretary went on to explain as Ethan clocked the gun I had and the one Brandt was carrying. I tensed up, just a fraction and began to beat my thumbs on my thighs as I watched Ethan closer. If he was going to make a play, it was logical he'd go for me since I was closest. "Unless, you were to escape somewhere between here and the airport." The Secretary said making all of us looked at him surprised. "Having convinced the young naïve Agent Jensen to help you of course, her need for revenge clouding her better judgement, and the pair of you assaulting myself and Mr Brandt during the escape."

"Sir?" Brandt asked confused as Ethan's eyes darted to mine and back again.

"You would then illegally scrounge whatever material you could from a backup supply cash that I have overlooked, the same cash where your team are waiting for further orders." The Secretary explained to Ethan as Brandt turned to me. I gave him as small smile, throwing him slightly.

"Sir, you may want to-" Brandt started to say when the Secretary waved at him to shut up. Brandt let out a heavy sigh and met my gaze again, the smirk still on my face. Brandt frowned more at me.

"You will then disappear, and with this conversation never taking place, your intentions would be unclear. But if anyone of your team is caught, or killed, they will be branded terrorists out to in site global nuclear war." The Secretary explained before going into a small bag and pulling out a usb stick. He handed it over to Ethan. "You're mission, should you choose to accept it." Ethan took it as the Secretary let out a heavy sigh. "Ethan you are my best man, and I'm sorry it's come to this, after all the sacrifices you made." He paused as I saw the haunted look in Ethan's eyes. "If we don't meet again, I just want you to know, I've always considered you a friend."

* * *

The next few moments fell into slow motion. There was a large bang from the side of the car. It threw everyone left and I landed nearly on top of Ethan. And in a blink of an eye things were back to normal speed. Bullets started to hail in through the back window as Brandt tried to cover the Secretary. I tried to keep my head down, as I reached for my gun.

"Stay down! Drive! Drive!" Ethan yelled as the Jeep picked up speed. More bullets hailed in as I tried to time it right to return fire, but there was no let up. I figured that we had shooters surrounding us. The Secretary moved as more bullets came in and one shot him right through his head. I'd seen people shot before, shot people before, but there was something so terrifying as I watched the bullet rip through his head. I gripped my gun tighter as I waited for the right time to shoot back.

Again everything fell into slow motion. The bullets zipped past us as we all took cover in the Jeep, a hail started close to me. Ethan grabbed me, pulling me closer to him as the bullets hit just where I had been. I felt a few skim past my upper arm and lower back, I felt the impact as it ripped my jacket to pieces. Unfortunately the bullets that missed me hit the driver instead, killing him instantly. The tires screeched as the Jeep took a sharp left again off the side of the bridge. I let go of my gun as the car dived over the edge, my body becoming momentarily weightless as I grabbed onto anything I could to prepare myself for the impact. If there was one situation I hated the most in the world, one position I never wanted to find myself, it was crashing over the side of bridge, trapped in a car.

Time jumped back to normal as the car sank deeper and deeper to the bottom of the river. I had practised this a million times in training. I knew exactly what to do, but sinking I really had to fight the blind panic. I was thankful for the small air pocket that formed in the Jeep. I swam up, taking in a deep breath as Ethan and Brandt surfaced too, it looked like we were the only survivors.

"You ok?" Ethan asked looking at the pair of us.

"Yeah." Brandt replied taking a few deep breaths.

"I really need to get out from under here." I coughed out looking around the small air pocket.

"Take a deep breath, stay with me. Ready?" Ethan asked taking a deep breath.

"Yeah." Brandt replied as I just nodded, my heart pounding out of my chest with a mixture of fear and adrenaline. We glanced at each other before taking a deep breath and fallowing Ethan under the wreckage of the car. We swam under the car, getting out through the smashed passenger window. As soon as we were clear Brandt tried to go to the surface. Suddenly bullets started to hail down on us, Ethan pulled Brandt back and we went back under the car for shelter. As we surfaced again I felt the fear out weigh the adrenaline. The air pocket we were using was getting smaller.

"Would this be a bad time to mention that I have a major fear of drowning in a car?" I tried to joke but it came out so flat and full of fear as Brandt and Ethan looked over at me.

"What do we do now?" Brandt asked, moving closer to me. He tried to give me a reassuring smile, but it really didn't help. I just wanted to get back to the surface. Ethan looked around and his eyes landed on a flare.

"We're going to be ok." Ethan said grabbing the flare as he looked directly at me. "Wait here." He ordered before taking a deep breath and disappearing under the water again.

"Where else are we going to go?" Brandt asked after Ethan disappeared.

"The one thing..." I muttered as Brandt looked at me.

"We're going to get out of here." Brandt said firmly. I just raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

"I'm going to drown in Russia, there's not going to be a body to bury. It's going to be like Benji all over again." I muttered as I shook my head. The fear taking control over my rational mind. I just didn't want my parents to have to bury someone else without an actual body. I knew how hard it was for them to bury an empty box for Benji. We were told there wasn't enough of his body left to bury.

"Jensen. Jensen! Kara!" Brandt snapped at me, shaking me a little. "We aren't going to die." He said looking into my eyes. His bluey-green eyes locked on my chocolate ones as he spoke with so much conviction.

"You really believe that?" I asked biting back as I looked around the confined space we found ourselves in. I knew I had to calm down, but the fear was gripping tighter and tighter by the second.

"Yeah, I ran the variables. We are getting out of here, just trust me." Brandt said sounding so sure of himself. I blinked, looking straight into his bluey green eyes, his eyes looked like oceans as I met his gaze. I felt the fear start to slip away slightly as I looked into his eyes. Brandt gave me a small smile and I smiled back.

"Ok... Ok." I said softly, "Ok I believe you." I muttered nodding to myself as Ethan reappeared.

"Ready?" Ethan asked as we heard the shift in the bullets. It sounded like they were aiming somewhere else. We all took a deep breath and dived under the water again, I fallowed Ethan as he led the way through the window and down stream from the shooting. He took us a few lengths away from the Jeep before surfacing the other side of the bridge. As I surfaced I caught Brandt looking over at me, making sure I was ok. I gave him a quick nod as we swam to the embankment.


	5. Alive

We all got out of the water away from prying eyes. Ethan took a moment to get his bearings as me and Brandt tried to dry out enough to be able to keep moving. As stood the air hit my skin and I felt a burning on my arm. I looked, noticing my jacket was useless due to the amount of bullet holes in it. I stripped it off, throwing it into a bush, muttering to myself about how freezing Russia was. I was wringing out my hair when I felt something warm touch my arm.

"You're hurt." Brandt said taking my arm, he was frowning at the top of my arm. I followed his gaze and saw the red mark on my upper arm. I ran my fingertips over it and hissed as it stung a little.

"Are you ok?" Ethan asked looking back at us. I looked up, glancing at the two men both had completely different expressions. Brandt looked worried for me, while Ethan looked serious, like he needed to know I would be ok to move.

"A bullet graze, it's nothing." I replied as Brandt let go of my arm.

"You sure?" Brandt asked looking from my arm to my eyes. I smirked as his hair was spiked out from the water and he looked a little like the grumpy cat.

"Sure. I've had worse." I admitted honestly, then frowned. "Although a white t-shirt, not the best idea..." I sighed as I looked down at myself. I looked like a wet t-shirt contestant, the see through material clung to my curves and made my bra stand out. Thankfully both men had the good manners not to look at my chest, or at least not while I was looking.

"Take my jacket." Brandt said as he started to shake off his suit jacket.

"No, it's fine. Really." I said holding my hand up to stop him.

"You don't have to prove anything Agent Jensen." Ethan added as he looked over at us again. This time his expression had softened as he looked at me.

"It's Jensen, and I'm not. The jacket will restrict my movements." I replied plainly. "Plus I'll dry out as soon as we start to move." I added shrugging slightly.

"Ok, well call me Ethan." Ethan stated nodding a little. "We need to head to the train tracks. This late at night, we should be able to avoid the majority of people. Brandt, you ok?" Ethan added looking at Brandt. I had to admit Brandt really didn't look too happy at all, he was hugging himself and had his head down as he frowned at nearly everything.

"Sure, why not?" Brandt grumbled as he folding his arms over his chest again to try and keep himself warmer.

"Cheer up, could be worse." I said nudging him with my good shoulder as we started to move.

"How?" Brandt pouted slightly as water fell from this hair.

"You could have lost your jacket and got the bullet graze." I offered as we walked off after Ethan, a smirk on my face. It didn't work, Brandt just pouted more.

* * *

We had been walking for about twenty minutes in silence. Ethan was clearly taking the lead as he guided us through the back streets and shady looking places. He seemed to know exactly where he was heading to. His face was pensive as he continued to glance around, occasionally glancing at me and Brandt. When I met his gaze he would give me a small nod, which I returned. I was keeping my eye on Brandt waiting for him to freak out, so far he had handled things surprisingly well. We had started to dry out, and thankfully my t-shirt wasn't clinging to my curves so much any more. I was walking along side Brandt who still had his arms folded over his chest as he walked. He looked troubled, as if he was trying to work things out. This was something I would expect an analyst to do, he was working out the variables from the situation, calculating how we had gotten away from the shooters. Or at least that's what I thought he was doing.

"Who's Benji?" Brandt asked breaking the silence that fell on the three of us.

"Pardon?" I asked glancing at him as he glanced at me. His face gave nothing away as he glanced at me.

"You said... it was going to be like Benji all over again. That there wouldn't be a body to bury." Brandt explained glancing at me again before looking forward. I started to tap my thumbs on my thighs. "I just wanted to know who Benji is." He added innocently inquisitively.

"It's personal Mr Brandt." I said plainly hitting my thighs harder as I looked forward, I could see Brandt's eyes on me.

"I didn't mean-" Brandt started to say when Ethan looked at the pair of us.

"Brandt." Ethan said in a warning tone. Ethan caught my eyes, there was a look of understanding in his eyes. It made me wonder if he had lost someone where you couldn't bury the body. There were more rumours round Ethan Hunt than any other agent I had ever heard of. It made you wonder which were true, and which weren't.

"I'm sorry, the name just doesn't match up with any member of your team." Brandt said softly as he rubbed his arms. Brandt's eyes darted from me to Ethan and back again nervously.

"It wouldn't." I replied softly, not bothering to look at Brandt again in hopes that he would just let it go.

"Then who is he?" Brandt asked again. He sounding like a three year old, questioning everything, seeking all the answers to life, the universe and beyond. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, drumming my legs so hard that I was pretty sure they would bruise.

"He's my brother." I said softly, looking to the ground. I got the feeling he wouldn't leave it alone until I gave him an answer. I let out a shaky breath as I studied the ground in great detail. I didn't think I could look anyone in the eyes and explain Benji. "He died ten years ago in a car accident. There wasn't enough of his body left to bury." I admitted sadly remembering the funeral. The funeral was the first time I had ever collapsed, after the service when we were at the wake, I just passed out. I hadn't been eating properly, or even talked to anyone about Benji's death. It was then my parents thought it would be a good idea for me to see a councillor.

"I'm sorry." Brandt said moving closer to me. I glanced up at him, as I remembered Benji's face at the Kremlin. _He's alive out there somewhere... he's alive._

"It's fine. Long time ago." I said with a sad smile as he gave me a sympathetic smile anyway. "Are we close yet?" I asked turning my attention to Ethan. I wanted the spot light off me as quickly as possible. I was never the one who wanted attention, I'd rather work in the shadows. I found being a shadow, you got more done.

"Another ten minutes or so, look there's the rail way." Ethan pointed out as up ahead it came into view.

"Do you have any towels there?" Brandt asked as a drop of water fell from his spiky hair.

* * *

We fell back into a silence as we headed towards the train yard. Both Ethan and I continued to look around as we made our way, Brandt started to look like he was running the numbers on something else. I watched as his eyebrows knitted together as he thought. I prepared myself for his break down. I moved to fall in line with Brandt again, our shoulders almost brushing each other.

"Why would that work?" Brandt suddenly asked as we moved closer to the yard.

"Why would what work?" Ethan asked as we reached the yard, he didn't bother looking at us. There were trains everywhere, and we had to look for the right one. I just hoped that we hadn't missed it.

"The flare on the body, why would that work?" Brandt asked again thinking out loud.

"It did work." Ethan said firmly as if to try and end the conversation.

"Yeah I know but-" Brandt asked again as he headed down the wrong way. I went to tug on his sleeve but Brandt had already took off down the wrong way.

"Hey." Ethan called him back as we headed the right way. He stopped looking back at us confused.

"Yeah I know," Brandt called double checking the way before jogging back up to us. "But why? How did you know that would draw their fire?" Brandt asked again as my eyes scanned the trains.

"I didn't, I played a hunch." Ethan replied calmly, making Brandt screw up his face. It was clearly he didn't like that, but I had to stop myself from smirking. I don't think you could get two different people.

"Ok..." Brandt nodded. "So what was your scenario? Right, yeah, there's a guy being shot at in the water, all of a sudden he decides to light up a flare and swim around?" Brandt asked sarcastically as we fallowed Ethan weaving in and out of train cars. "I mean, what you assume they'd be thinking?" Brandt added looking at Ethan for an answer.

"Thinking?" Ethan asked seriously, glancing at me as I just shrugged.

"Yeah." Brandt nodded as Ethan let out a small laugh, a smile on his face.

"I didn't assume they were thinking, I assumed they were shooting at anything that moved. Look these guys, these guys aren't rogue scholars you know?" Ethan asked as we stopped, a few trains were moving off. Brandt nodded as he looked to the floor. He took a nervous glance at me and Ethan.

"It's really happening, isn't it?" Brandt asked softly, almost a little scared.

"Yeah." Ethan replied calmly, glancing at me. "And we might be the only one's who can stop it."

"It beats taking you back to headquarters." I smirked back at Ethan. He cracked a smile as Brandt continued to look troubled. A horn bleared out breaking us from the moment.

"Ok, you know what that sound is?" Ethan asked looking around.

"It's our ride out of here!" Brandt smiled as we jumped over and empty car. "Alright it's a green car, number forty-seven!" Brandt yelled as we watched the train move past us. All three of us looking for the right train. The problem was that the train in front of us had just set off and was blocking our view for most of the other trains.

"I see green!" Ethan yelled as he caught a glimpse of it through the gap in the cars.

"This way! Go, go go!" Brandt pointed, pushing us behind the one train to get to the one we wanted. "Alright forty-seven." Brandt repeated. We all searched for the number, moving down past the cars as we went.

"I don't see it!" Ethan yelled as his eyes darted over the cars.

"Forty-seven, come on, come on, come on." I yelled as I tried to catch the numbers that were flying past our faces.

"Forty-Seven, forty-seven, forty-seven." Brandt continued to repeat it as we searched for the right number. We had moved down the train, Ethan was the furthest down, and I was side by side with Brandt. "Oh shit!" Brandt cried out, before taking a quick U-turn and racing for the right car. We chased after him, I was closer than Ethan. "Whoa Pole!" Brandt cried out, making sure neither of us slammed into it. "This is it, manifest!" Brandt called out as he ran to the door, trying his best to keep up with it. I ran just behind Brandt, my eyes darting between the pair as I waited to see what was going to happen. Ethan hit the manifest bringing up a secret panel.

"_Enter your code._" A mechanical female voice asked.

"Pole!" Brandt cried out almost crashing into it and making me crash into him. Ethan jogged round us as my hands landed on Brandt's waist.

"Sorry." I mumbled as Brandt took my wrist and ran with me round the pole. We all picked up the pace as me and Brandt raced for the door and Ethan went to enter his code.

"_Press enter._" The voice ordered, so Ethan pressed enter. Suddenly the key code changed to a scanner. I rolled my eyes as I saw the machine appear.

"Retinal scanner!" Brandt yelled pointing to his eyes before grabbing hold of the door handle again.

"_Retinal scan required._" The voice stated as Ethan jumped up trying to reach the machine. He was too short to make it and the train started to pick up speed.

"Watch out!" Brandt yelled as another pole got in the way. This time we all managed to dodge it. As soon as we were clear, Ethan jumped up, grabbing hold of the handle bars and took the scan.

"_Agent confirmed._" The voice said opening the damn door. Brandt jumped in first and held his hand out to me.

"Come on!" He yelled as I jumped a little and he pulled me in. Ethan was right behind me, jumping into the train as both me and Brandt pulled him in, closing the door behind us as we fell into the darkness of the car.

* * *

The lights flickered on as Brandt helped me to my feet. As soon as the lights came fully on I realised we were at gun point. I held my hands up as a African American woman aimed at us. I figured that she was part of Ethan's team.

"Ethan?" A voice called out to my left and I turned to see Benji stood there with a gun aimed at me. His face dropped as his eyes locked on mine. I stood perfectly still taking in my big brother for the second time in twenty-four hours.

"We thought you were dead." The woman said, keeping her gun aimed on me and Brandt. For a second I thought the words had come out of my mouth.

"We are." Brandt sighed as he looked at the two armed people.

"Who's this?" The woman asked looking at the pair of us.

"Dunn and Carter," Ethan said getting to his feet and waving to Benji and the woman. "Brandt Chief Analyst, Jensen O.S." Ethan said walking away as both Benji and Carter lowered their guns.

"Analyst?" Carter asked, my eyes never left Benji as he stared at me.

"Jensen?" Benji asked so softly that I wasn't sure anyone else heard us. "You work for Omega?" He asked shocked. I had a million thoughts running through my mind. I was so happy Benji was alive. That he was a good guy. That he was stood in arms reach. I was mad that he couldn't find a way to tell me. That I had to go through my life thinking that maybe I was going crazy because I thought he was alive when everyone said he was dead. I thought about all the pain he brought on my parents. Something in me snapped and I punched Benji straight in the face taking everyone by surprise. Especially Benji.

"Hey!" Carter yelled aiming at me again as a pair of strong arms wrapped around me from behind, pulling me back a little.

"Hey, hey Kara, take it easy." Brandt whispered into my ear as Ethan walked over to us, his face was like thunder. "Calm down." Brandt continued to whisper into my ear as he held me against his body, I didn't struggle I just stood perfectly still watching Benji holding his face.

"Benji, you alright?" Ethan asked checking on my brother as he held his nose. It didn't look that bad, I think it was more because I had caught him off guard than anything.

"No, ow, yeah, ow, I'm fine. I, ow, I deserved that." Benji said still holding his nose as his eyes darted from Ethan to me.

"You wanna explain yourself Agent Jensen?" Ethan asked marching over to me and getting in my face. Brandt still had his arms wrapped around me as Ethan got closer, Brandt pulled me closer to him, almost protectively. I just glared into Ethan's eyes, he had no right to ask me. I knew he should have been asking Benji. I looked into Ethan's green eyes waiting for something to snap.

"Ethan, it's ok." Benji said walking to his side and putting his hand on Ethan's shoulder. Brandt let go of me but stood protectively at my side. Ethan looked at Benji with a questioning look. "This is my sister." Benji clarified.

"Sister?" Carter asked as she lowered her gun.

"This is Benji?" Brandt asked from my side. Benji looked at the pair of us confused as I just nodded a little.

"She was told I died ten years ago." Benji said to everyone. "Jensen, I'm sorry. It was the best way to keep you all safe." Benji said sadly, he looked so hurt as he spoke. He took a step closer and I saw Brandt tense up, thankfully Benji didn't seem to notice. "I promised I'd keep you safe, and this was the only way." He added before pulling me into a hug. I wrapped my arms tightly round my brother as I closed my eyes and just enjoyed being safe in his arms again. It took me back to being twelve when Benji found me and brought me home. Being in his arms, told me nothing bad was going to happen ever again.

"I knew you were alive." I whispered as we hugged, I was well aware of the eyes on us, but in that moment I didn't care. I had my brother back.

"You grew up Jensen." Benji whispered back as we pulled out of the hug. Benji took a good look at me, a proud smile crossing his lips. "You learnt to punch better too." He joked making me smile sadly.

"Sorry I punched you in the nose Benj." I said sadly. Benji let his arm rest over my shoulders.

"It could have been worse." He smiled at me chuckling a little before kissing the top of my head.

* * *

Ethan moved back to where he was originally standing and pulled out a smart table, putting the usb that the Secretary gave him on it. The table instantly started to read the information, bringing up images on all the screens around us.

"_Agent confirmed._" The female robotic voice stated as Ethan slipped on some headphones. Benji passed both me and Brandt a towel each to dry off with. On one of the screens some Russian started with a man talking in front of a group of officials. As soon as I saw his face I realised it was a younger version of Colbolt, Kurt Hendricks.

"_How will the world finally end? It is my job to predict the unthinkable, to treat the death of billions as a game,_" A translated version of his speech played as we all watched the video play. "_After twenty years of this, I was numb. Until a new question crossed my mind. What happens after the end of the world?_" The speech continued.

"Here, dry clothes." Benji whispered passing me and Brandt something to change into. I gave Benji a warm smile, the swelling on his nose was fading.

"Thanks Benj." I smirked looking down and seeing one of Benji's checked shirts. Benji nodded and returned his attention to the screens.

"Um, do you want to go first?" Brandt asked nodding behind him were no one was looking. Ethan was on the phone to someone and the others had returned to watching the screens.

"You go first." I nodded, turning my attention back to the screens, as I continued to dry my hair.

"_Every two or three million years some natural catastrophe devastates all life on Earth._" The speech went on. I heard the wet clothes drop to the floor and took a quick glance at Brandt. He had his topless back to me, but I could see the guy really did have more muscles than any analyst I had ever met. I quickly looked back to the screens as I saw him reach for a fleece to zip up. I didn't want to get caught peeking.

"You're turn." Brandt whispered tapping my shoulder. I gave him a quick smile before swapping places with him. Brandt stood blocking everyone from seeing me as I turned my back on them.

"_But life goes on._" The speech continued as I quickly changed into the trousers. I peeled the t-shirt off and dropped it to the floor before picking up the checked shirt Benji gave me to borrow. As I went to slip it on I felt eyes on me, I turned my head and noticed Brandt studying the scars on my back, his face scrunched up as he tried to work them out. My eyes caught his as he just looked at me as I slipped on my shirt. Brandt looked to the floor before walking off to the other side of the car scratching his head as he went. I could have sworn I saw his cheeks go slightly pink.

"_And what little remains, grows stronger._" I moved to stand next to Benji, the shirt he gave me, fitting me loosely. Everyone seemed so engrossed in the speech and with good reason. Hendricks was insane, clearly out for nuclear war by any means. "_Put simply, world destruction is an unpleasant, but necessary part of evolution._" The speech continued when suddenly there was a noise and everyone jumped. We all turned to see Brandt looking surprised by the secret weapons draw he exposed, by leaning on something. He glanced at all of us and moved to sit on the floor next to me as we continued to watch the screens. I glanced down at him and gave him a sympathetic smile as he shrugged his shoulders. "_What happens then, I wondered, when mankind faces the next end of the world? I looked to Hiroshima, Nagasaki, thriving cities rebuilt from the ashes. Monuments to the unimaginable, dedicated to the concept of peace. It occurred to me here, that nuclear war might have a place in the natural order. But only if it could be controlled, only if it touched every living soul equally._" The speech finished as Ethan paused it.

"I.M.F and O.S now believes that this man," Ethan said walking up to us, changing the picture to a more recent one of Colbolt. "Kurt Hendricks is a nuclear extremist. Codename Colbolt. Today he was seen leaving the Kremlin with what was most likely a nuclear launch device after killing two O.S agents." Ethan explained looking at all of us. I felt everyone give me a glance, Benji took my hand and gave it a small squeeze, I squeezed back. He changed the picture to a woman. "A few days ago Sabine Moreau killed one of our agents in Budapest, leaving with Russian nuclear launch codes." Ethan went on to explain and I noticed Carter tense up. I figured she was on that mission that cocked up, I started to realise maybe the mission wasn't cocked up, just out played by someone like Colbolt and his team. "Intel indicates that she will check in the Burj hotel in Dubai in thirty-six hours." Ethan brought up a new photo of a man with a beard and light hair. "Marius Winstrom is a known operative of Colbolt's. Winstrom is currently on route to Dubai. For the launch device to work, Colbolt needs the activation codes. He's sending Winstrom to buy them from Moreau." Ethan paused looking at all of us again. "The Secretary," He said looking between Benji and Carter. "Is dead." I glanced at Brandt who was sat on the floor by my feet, we shared a look as he shook his head. I heard Carter take a deep breath as Benji shifted uncomfortably. "The President has invoked Ghost Protocol. We're shut down. No satellite, safe house, support, or extraction. The four of us, and the contents of this car is all that remain of the I.M.F." Ethan went on to explain looking from Benji to Brandt then Carter.

"Then why are you here Agent Jensen?" Carter asked looking straight at me. She wasn't being hostile, but curious and I couldn't blame her. I felt everyone turn their attention to me. I glanced at Ethan who gave me a small nod to go ahead.

"If the I.M.F have issued Ghost Protocol, Omega wont do anything, not make a single play for the codes until they've sat down with the President and Prime Minster. That's wasted time. I'm pretty sure Omega think I've gone rouge or died, either way they see me, they're going to presume the worst. You guys are going after Colbolt, he took out my team. I'm helping stop this nuclear war." I said looking Carter straight in the eyes. She gave me a small nod before turning her attention back to Ethan. I felt Benji slip his hand into mine again and give me a small squeeze. I squeezed back as Ethan talked again.

"As of this moment, any action is unsanctioned for either agency. So if you want out, speak now." Ethan said looking from Carter to Benji and me and finally Brandt. I glanced as Brandt as he opened his mouth to speak. His eyes darted to mine before going back to Ethan's, he let out a small sigh and looked back out into nothing.

"Our mission is Hendricks, we are all that stands between him and his goal. Nothing can be left to chance. Everyone connected with this man is considered an asset with valuable information about our target. No one can know we're still online. We loose Hendricks now, we loose him forever." Ethan said firmly as he pointed to the different pictures dotted around.

"So, what's the play?" Carter asked softly, ready to back whatever plan Ethan came up with.

"Winstrom will take delivery from Moreau in thirty-six hours. Now we can not let the launch codes leave the hotel. We need Winstrom to lead us to Hendricks." Ethan explained.

"Yeah well he'll only do that if he has the real codes." Brandt spoke up, looking at his hands.

"Or if he thinks he has them." Carter countered, looking annoyed at Brandt.

"Our objective is to intercept the sale." Ethan said loud enough to make Brandt and Carter look at him. "Replace the authentic codes with counterfeits, and fallow Winstrom to Hendricks." Ethan explained.

"Well that's, that's simple enough." Benji said pushing off from the side of the wall. "We snatch the codes, we give out some fakes. Jane you double Moreau and sell the codes to Winstrom and Bob's your uncle!" Benji explained, leaning on the wall next to Jane. I smirked at how simple my brother made it all sound.

"And how do you propose we snatch the codes from Moreau?" Brandt asked looking up at Benji. I looked as Benji tried to work it out, his mouth moved as if he was going to speak, but he didn't make a noise.

"We take her out." Jane said firmly. I raised an eyebrow at how cold Jane sounded, she was so cold, so fuelled by something other than the mission. It was personal for her too. I mean it was personal for me, but I knew I had to keep my emotions in check if I was going to bring Colbolt to justice. Revenge clouded your judgement, just like the Secretary had said.

"Yeah we take her out, but you know discretely." Benji parroted Jane with a shrug.

"Discretely?" Brandt asked with a plain expression. Clearly he wasn't impressed with my brother.

"Yeah." Benji bit back, I was getting the feeling my brother wasn't too keen on Mr Brandt either. The whole time Ethan had been watching Jane, he didn't look impressed. Benji looked over and I started to shake my head, catching Benji's eyes and giving me a confused look.

"Think bout it Benj..." I sighed as Jane glared at me slightly.

"Right she's an asset, I get it." Benji backtracked as he realised what Ethan had said.

"Right." Brandt sighed out as Jane almost glared at Benji for changing his mind.

"Nothing left to chance. He said that," Benji said defending himself. "I'm spit balling, it's not always going to be gold."

"We don't touch Winstrom." Ethan snapped looking at Benji then turned his gaze back to Jane. "Or Moreau," He moved closer to Jane. "She'll answer for Hanaway, but it'll be when I say. After we get Hendricks." Ethan said staring into Jane's eyes.

* * *

We started to pack up everything that we would need for the mission. I didn't know where most things were, people just pasted me them and I put them into bags. Both me and Brandt had become the designated packers.

"Only pack what we need." Ethan said as we continued to pack.

"Yeah absolutely only pack, well you never know." Benji added as passed things to me and Brandt to pack.

"So that's your brother?" Brandt asked as we packed the bags, I looked up and Benji was messing with his laptop. That stupid grin plastered all over his face. I forgot how badly I missed that stupid grin until I saw it plastered all over his face. My brother was a nerd through and through, but that didn't mean I didn't loved him to bits.

"Yeah." I said softly as I packed up some weapons, a warm smile on my face. I was so glad to have my brother back. For the first time in years I felt like my old self, the person I was when I was eighteen.

"Really?! I mean you two, you don't look anything alike." Brandt asked as I met his gaze. I let out a small chuckle, loosing my smile as I met his bluey-green eyes. I felt my heart double time as I met his gaze. It was so intense, but not in an intrusive way, in a way where he was genuinely interested in my answer.

"I'm adopted." I admitted meeting his gaze. It was probably the first time in sixteen years that I admitted I was adopted. When people ask me I always say we were brother and sister. I'm not sure what made me tell the truth, there was just something about his eyes. "It's a really complicated story, that you don't want to know." I added shoving in a few clips of spare ammo before he asked anything else. Brandt just nodded a little, knowing when to leave it for once.

"Bet your glad he's alive though." Brandt added zipping up his bag as he met my eyes again.

"I always knew he was." I admitted as I looked up and watched Benji. He turned and looked at me confused.

"You alright sis?" Benji asked walking over with his laptop bag in hand. He glanced at Brandt who cleared his throat.

"Yeah Benj, just happy I'm not insane." I joked as Brandt went to help Jane with something. Benji took his seat and grabbed my hand, rubbing my knuckles.

"I'm sorry I made you think that." Benji said honestly. "I just... I always promised you I'd keep you safe. Remember?" Benji asked softly so that the others couldn't hear me.

"I remember." I said nodding a little. "It was the day you took me home. You promised no one was going to hurt me."

"Right." Benji sighed out looking frustrated. "But leaving you behind. Letting you all think I died, it stopped people coming after you. Or so I thought." Benji added shaking his head as he looked at me again, that goofy smile plastered on his face again. "An Omega Standard Agent? Really couldn't think of a more dangerous life?" He teased pushing my slightly.

"I thought I'd keep it in the family." I shrugged softly. "Plus they found me." I added softly.

"What happened to being a doctor?" Benji asked confused.

"You _died_. I didn't want to tell anyone that they had lost a loved one. It changed everything. Omega promised me a life where I could help stop people dying, without having to tell people the ones they loved are dead." I admitted looking down at our hands.

"So spy seemed the logical answer?" Benji joked making me laugh a little. We both caught Brandt look over at us for a second. He smiled at me and I smiled back before he returned his attention to Jane."So you two an item?" Benji asked as I glared at him. Benji put on that stupid grin that made me smile despite myself.

"No I met the guy twelve hours ago, why'd you ask that?" I asked confused, tapping my thumbs on my thighs. Benji clocked my thumbs and put his hands over mine, stopping me.

"He's protective of you. That's all." Benji smirked before getting up and walking over to the Jane and him. I watched Benji walk off and glanced at Brandt, I had to admit, in the little time I met him, I didn't think he was that bad looking, and there was definitely something about his eyes. I shook my head as Ethan put a bag down in front of me, pulling me from those thoughts.

"I told Jane we'd get revenge on my terms for her team, it has to be the same for you too Jensen." Ethan stated as he passed me things to put in the bags. "You can't go for Hendricks just because you see him. Understand?" Ethan asked firmly. I knew we were having this talk because I punched Benji in the face. I had let my emotions over ride my brain. I knew in the field it would get someone killed. I had no intentions of letting that happen.

"I know." I said simply. "But as long as we stop him, I'll be happy." I added honestly. Revenge for me was stopping the nuclear war, if I got to hurt or kill Hendricks that would be a bonus. I knew if we took him alive, I'd be the first in line to do the interrogation.

"How much field work have you had?" Ethan asked watching me load up the last bag.

"Five years in the same team with Omega. Two years of training and three years specialising in several areas including languages, tech and medical. I know how to do my job if that's what your asking." I added glancing at Ethan coolly.

"I have no doubt, otherwise the Secretary wouldn't have put you in that Jeep." Ethan replied passing me a phone. "Clearly he saw something in your file, in you."

"Maybe." I said taking hold of the phone. I was never one to brag about myself. I knew I could the job and as long as everyone else knew that, that was all that mattered.

"But you're on my team now. We do things my way, there's no room for a lack of trust." Ethan said firmly, holding onto the phone. His green eyes locked on mine as he was searching them for something. Maybe for the trust, maybe for my loyalty, I wasn't sure.

"I trusted you since the Jeep hit the water." I admitted taking the phone and tucking it into my pocket as Ethan smiled at me.


End file.
